Car sector sees sales rise for fifth month in a row in January

The announcement made by the government in early January that it would be keeping in place its PIVE subsidy scheme helped the car sector register a rise in new registrations for the fifth consecutive month in January.

The PIVE scheme provides subsidies of 2,000 euros to buyers of new, environmentally friendly vehicles who also scrap an older vehicle.

Thanks to the renewed interest from consumers in changing their older cars for new ones, January saw 43,436 new car registrations, 7.6 percent up on the same month a year before, according to figures released Monday by the industry associations Anfac, Faconauto and Ganvam.

The fifth period of the PIVE scheme is expected to see the sector shift 800,000 units in 2014, which would be 11 percent up on 2013.

Gripped by crisis

The automobile sector in Spain has been gripped by crisis since 2007, with rampant unemployment and low consumer confidence taking their toll on sales. In 2012, the sector saw its worst year for sales since 1986.

Anfac and Ganvam also highlighted the continued fall in prices for automobiles. According to figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE), in 2013 the average cost of cars in Spain fell 0.3 percent, compared to a general inflation rate for the year of 0.3 percent.